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   Im·pulse

   /ˈimˌpəls/

   

   noun

   • 1. a sudden strong and unreflective urge or desire to act: "I had an almost irresistible impulse to giggle" Similar urgeinstinctdrivecompulsionneeditchwhimcapricedesirefancynotion
   • ▪ the tendency to act impulsively: "he was a man of impulse, not premeditation" Similar spontaneityimpetuositywildnessrecklessnessirresponsibilityrashnessOpposite premeditationcarefulness
   • 2. a driving or motivating force; an impetus: "an added impulse to this process of renewal" Similar inspirationstimulationstimulusincitementmotivationencouragementfillipspurprodcatalyst
   • 3. a pulse of electrical energy; a brief current: "nerve impulses" Similar pulsecurrentwavesignalmessagebrainwavecommunication
   • 4. a force acting briefly on a body and producing a finite change of momentum: "ability to communicate motion by impulse"
   • ▪ a change of momentum so produced, equivalent to the average value of the force multiplied by the time during which it acts.

   Word Origin early 17th century (as a verb in the sense ‘give an impulse to’): the verb from Latin impuls- ‘driven on’, the noun from impulsus ‘impulsion’, both from the verb impellere (see impel).

   Scrabble Points: 11

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